THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
"Orbis non sufficit" - The Bond family motto. The World Is Not Enough could have been Pierce Brosnan's best 007 outing, but sadly falls far short of that goal. There is some very fine stuff to be enjoyed: The pre-credit sequence where M16 is attacked from within, a prominent businessman and friend of M is murdered, and Bond initiates a terrific boat chase through the Thames, ending in a shootout at the Millennium Dome is one of the best of the series. Sophie Marceau as the devious Elektra King is a bold attempt at an irredeemable Bond villainess. Desmond Llewelyn delivers his swansong as Q. Brosnan himself is in top form; this third time was the charm for his performance as 007. Brosnan's interactions with Marceau where Bond shows genuine conflict in his feelings for her were a breakthrough for Bond in the pre-Daniel Craig era. The World Is Not Enough also features the welcome return of Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovski. Unfortunately, the promise doesn't outweigh the exeedingly negative. Judi Dench's M is portrayed as a gullible sap who played right into Elektra's hands and needed damsel in distress rescue. The henchman Renard who had a bullet lodged in his brain so he could feel no pain was a cool idea, but was disappointingly written and played by Robert Carlyle as an ineffectual, lovesick sad sack. And of course, there's Denise Richards annihiliating the film's shaky credibility as big boobied nuclear scientist Dr. Christmas Jones; complete with the infamous final line: "I thought Christmas only comes once a year."
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